Beauty with brains – Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone truly has it all. She’s not just a phenomenal athlete; she’s out here rewriting the history books. At the Paris Olympics, she dominated it all! Helping Team USA defend their 4x400m relay title was amazing, but before that, at the U.S. Olympic Trials, she went and broke her world record, running 50.65 seconds and shaving off 0.03 seconds from the mark she set on that track two years ago.

And then, just a day after turning 25, McLaughlin-Levrone blew everyone away again, lowering her 400m hurdles world record to 50.37 seconds and securing her second Olympic gold. It’s like she’s on a whole other level. But then came the time for another milestone! In December, she was named Women’s Track Athlete of the Year at the 2024 World Athletics Awards in Monaco. Of course, she deserved it as broke her record twice and kept her Olympic title. And the praise didn’t stop there. She even got recognition from the World Athletics president a few weeks later.

Sebastian Coe even gave McLaughlin-Levrone a special honor, admitting he’s still trying to process what McLaughlin-Levrone pulled off in Paris. “It’s invidious to pick out one performance from Paris,” he said. “But I’m still trying to come to terms with what Sydney McLaughlin did on the track that day.” Coe went as far as saying he hadn’t seen an Olympic win as definitive as hers since David Rudisha’s 2012 800m gold though, he playfully added, Rudisha’s win was a little closer to his heart. Remember his story?

David Rudisha’s journey to Olympic gold, and a world record, is pretty incredible. Growing up, he was all about herding cattle in Kenya, with no plans to become a runner. But after seeing his dad’s silver medal from the 1968 Olympics, something clicked, and he set his sights on achieving Olympic glory himself. Not only did he do that, but he also set a world record in 2012, winning back-to-back Olympic golds in the 800m.

Being compared to Rudisha is a compliment in itself. However, with so much talent, why McLaughlin-Levrone opened her this season later than usual.

Is a 49-second 400m hurdles run in Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s future?

After almost two years away from the 400m hurdles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone made a return to her main event, all while keeping the 200m, 400m, and even the 100m hurdles in the mix. And the best part is she broke the World Record in a major championship six times. And get this, she hasn’t lost a hurdle race since 2019! But why did she open this season so late? Knee injury!

After missing the 2023 World Championships in Budapest due to a knee injury, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was more determined than ever to make her mark again. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone started her season in April, sprinting a good 22:38 on the 200m and a 12:71 in the 100m hurdle race on the 4th of May. However, two weeks later, she decided to crank it up a notch, bringing down the 200m personal best to 22.07 at the LA Grand Prix—quite impressive, right?

Next, on 31 May, after virtually an absence from two years of events, she provided the earnestness that everyone eager for her to come back in the 400-meter hurdles was waiting for with a 52.70 showing at the Moses Legends Meet in Atlanta. Isn’t it crazy how she came back to that and dominated after the period that she was out?

Now, McLaughlin-Levrone is on the verge of breaking the 49-second barrier in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. McLaughlin-Levrone is ready for whatever comes next. She is already eyeing the next year’s World Championships in Tokyo in which she will be up against some competitors like Femke Bol. Whatever happens, Sydney isn’t done breaking records and making history.